Asbestos: old foe in 21st century developing countries

Our plain-English summary of Asbestos: old foe in 21st century developing countries, by L.V. Harris, I.A. Kahwa (The Science of the Total Environment, 2003).

The study

• Authors: L.V. Harris, I.A. Kahwa
• Journal: The Science of the Total Environment
• Published: 2003;307(1-3):1-9
• Type of article: Editorial
• Cited by: 19 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

While use of asbestos materials in developed nations has been decreasing because of the harmful health effects of asbestos dust mining, processing and use of the ancient material in developing countries is increasing. The regulatory mechanism for use, handling and disposal of asbestos and associated waste in developing countries are weak and information on asbestos-related diseases is scanty but emerging. We identify lack of epidemiological data on asbestos health effects as a major gap to be bridged in the promotion of occupational and environmental health in developing countries. Without data on local situations, diseases such as asbestosis and mesothelioma remain too obscure to assist the campaign for appropriate regulation of asbestos usage or attracting attention to abominable industrial practices generally.

In plain English

This 2003 editorial by two guest editors based in Jamaica was not a research study and reported no new epidemiological data. The authors argued that asbestos use was falling in developed countries while mining, processing and use were increasing in developing countries, where regulation was weak. Citing a US Geological Survey summary, they wrote that Canada produced approximately 18% of the world's chrysotile in 2000. They described a Jamaican squatter family living on a former asbestos waste dump polluted with asbestos cement waste, including crocidolite. They noted that Jamaican official ministry records showed no case of occupational asbestosis, although at least two locally contracted cases were known from an earlier study. In workplace workshops they ran with Jamaican trade unions, less than 20% of participants were somewhat aware of published asbestos information. The number of participants was not given. They noted that only 26 of 175 ILO member states had ratified ILO Asbestos Convention No. 162. The authors concluded that the lack of epidemiological data was a major gap and called for epidemiological studies in developing countries.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: editorial (opinion piece); no original epidemiological study
• Who was studied: No study population. The authors discuss developing countries in general and describe workplace workshops on asbestos held in Jamaica with trade unions; the number of participants is not given.
• Exposure: Asbestos mining, processing, products and waste in developing countries, including roofing and siding shingles, asbestos cement pipes, and asbestos cement waste containing crocidolite at a former dump in Jamaica
• Main results:
  • Among participants in the authors' Jamaican workplace workshops, less than 20% were somewhat aware of, or had seen some of, the relevant asbestos information the authors had published. This was an observation, not a formal survey, and the number of participants was not given.
  • In Jamaica, official Ministry of Labour records showed no case of occupational asbestosis, although at least two cases of locally contracted occupational asbestosis were known. The authors credit these cases to an earlier report (Reid and Kahwa, 1995).
  • Citing Virta (2002), the authors stated that Canada produced approximately 18% of the world's chrysotile in 2000.
  • The authors described children in a squatter family compound in Old Harbour, Jamaica, located on a former asbestos waste dump polluted with asbestos cement waste, including crocidolite.
  • Citing ILO (2002), the authors stated that of the 175 ILO member states, only 26 had ratified ILO Asbestos Convention No. 162.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that the lack of epidemiological data on asbestos health effects is a major gap in developing countries, and that epidemiological studies there are needed.

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Mesothelioma.

Related studies

• Occupational and environmental exposures and cancers in developing countries — D. Hashim, P. Boffetta (2014)
• Interstitial Lung Diseases in Developing Countries — P. Rivera-Ortega, M. Molina-Molina (2019)
• Transfer of occupational health problems from a developed to a developing country: lessons from the Japan-South Korea experience — J. Park, N. Hisanaga, et al. (2009)
• Asbestos-related hazards in developing countries — B.S. Levy, A. Seplow (1992)
• Scientific controversy and asbestos: making disease invisible — L. Braun, A. Greene, et al. (2003)
• High Time for Complete Ban on Asbestos Use in Developing Countries — T. Chen, X.M. Sun, et al. (2019)

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